Lucky Seven

On more than one occasion in these recaps, I said that I want to see the Colorado Avalanche go on a hot streak at some point. The Avs had made up a lot of ground after our shaky start, but we still needed something to remind fans and experts how dangerous this team is.

I'd say winning six of seven does that. Even better, since the one loss was in extra time.

The Avs' hot streak moved the team to a strong position in the Central, and on Monday evening, our four-game home stand concluded. Our opponents: the reigning, defending, undisputed Stanley Cup Champions, the Florida Panthers. This was our second and last meeting against the Panthers this season; our first meeting saw us put seven pucks into the net.

Mackenzie Blackwood was in net against Sergei Bobrovsky, and the Avs dominated in shots during that first frame. A power play helped maintain that shot lead, but nothing went in for us. Something did go in for the Panthers, and it was Carter Verhaeghe who struck for Florida. However, Verhaeghe would end up going in the box at the tail end of the period, but despite the fact that the Avs led 11-4 in shots, the Panthers led where it counted. Panthers started to get a few more good chances in the second, but Blackwood stayed strong. It took awhile, but the Avs finally broke through, and it was Devon Toews who tied things up very late in the second period. Casey Mittelstadt had the lone assist, and it's 1-1 heading into the third period.

Third period saw the shots increase vastly, and almost seven minutes into the frame, Panthers commit Too Many Men. Avs power play gets killed off, but a few seconds after it ends, Toews strikes again! Ross Colton and Juuso Parssinen (the latter being yet another player given to us by the Predators) with the assists, and the Avs took a 2-1 lead. Both teams continued to press; Florida even more so after Bobrovsky was pulled for the extra attacker. With just under two minutes left, Mikko Rantanen iced it, and for Toews, that's a third point, as he had the primary assist--Nathan MacKinnon had the secondary assist. Bobrovsky was pulled again, but the Avs held the fort down.

After the 11-4 shots advantage for the Avs in the first, the Panthers outshot Colorado 9-7 in the second, and in the third? 16-14 for the home team. Blackwood was masterful in net, but the star was Devon Toews. Toews and Cale Makar make up the Avs' top defensive pair, but Makar is so great that we sometimes forget how amazing Toews is. Hard to believe that this is Toews' fifth season with the Avs; we acquired him from the New York Islanders during that 2020 offseason. Toews played a key role in our Cup year in 2022, and he has continued to flourish as half of that defensive pairing with Makar. Regarding this game, Toews had a three point night, putting two pucks in the net.

So the Avs' homestand went very well; seven points out of the maximum eight, and we are now 7-0-1 in our last eight games. The Avs will now hit the road for three straight against division foes. First off, a trip to Chicago on Wednesday, followed by a game in Minnesota on Thursday, and finally, off to Winnipeg on Saturday.

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